Privacy Policy

Introduction

This Policy contains important information about how we manage personal information of prospective customers and customers who choose to sign up to energy retail offers via UtilityDeals Pty Ltd (ACN 162 870 886). Data collected through interactions via www.utilitydeals.com.au, contact forms, and information shared with UtilityDeals call centres stand protected. We may modify this Policy at any time, and if we do, we’ll publish it on the websites. You can request a copy of this privacy policy via email.

We are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles contained within that Act. The services we provide include quote comparison services in relation to electricity and gas offers from competing energy retailers in Australia who are on the panel of UtilityDeals Pty Ltd.

Personal information

Depending on your interaction with us, the information that we collect may include (but is not necessarily limited to) your name, address, date of birth, gender, concession card details, and proof of identification information (e.g. driver’s licence, passport, Medicare details). In some cases we may collect information that is usually non-personally identifiable (such as location data, data about personal attributes or online identifiers) but that, taken together with other collected data, may identify you, either directly or indirectly. Where practicable, we will allow you to deal with us anonymously or by using a pseudonym.

We collect personal information from you directly and voluntarily only.

Information provided voluntarily by you

We collect personal information you provide to us, including when you:

• Register your interest to review energy offers on our website, by sending us an email, by contacting us, or by leaving us a voice message on our voicemail system;
• Interact with our website or call centres to obtain a quote for products and services;
• Subscribe to electronic communications;
• Enter promotions or competitions, depending on the entry requirements;
• Submit an enquiry or complaint, provide feedback or make a customer service request;
• Participate in surveys, market research or audience testing.

We have implemented an automated messaging system (chatbot) on our website www.utilitydeals.com.au. Any personal information that you provide to obtain a comparison through our websites or email, or through the call centre, is collected and managed by the UtilityDeals Account Manager.

Sensitive information

We do not obtain or collect any sensitive information about you.

Information collected automatically (cookies)

We generate and maintain a record of information when you visit our website. The UtilityDeals website uses cookies or similar types of technology to automatically collect information including your IP address, the device you use to access our website or social media, your location and the duration of your interactions with our website. We may track activity relating to your interaction with our email communications and with links embedded in email communications and our website or social media. This type of information is usually collected, used and stored to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and how visitors use the website.

You can configure your browser so it does not accept cookies, but this may affect the functionality of the websites. We may also collect and store information on your personal device using browser web storage and data caches.

How we use personal information

We generally collect, hold and use personal information for the following purposes:

1. service provision;
2. communication;
3. marketing and advertising.

Service provision

In some cases, if you do not provide the information, we will not be able to provide our services to you. We require basic personal information in order to facilitate a switch request of your energy account to another provider. We may notify you that we also collect, hold and use personal information for other purposes from time to time. Where required or authorised by law, we may also share your personal information with third parties if we genuinely believe that the sharing of that personal information is required or authorised under law.

Communication

We use your personal information to provide you with customer support, including dealing with complaints and enquiries (see our Dispute Resolution Policy). We may also use your information for activities including:

• to send you a summary of your quote and comparison results;
• to send special offers or reminders;
• to seek your opinions and feedback; and
• to telephone you about the services and products we offer.

Marketing & advertising

We use your personal information to market and advertise our business and products and services to you. Your information may also be used to customise and display advertisements and content for you. We may use various services or organisations to analyse collected data about your interaction with our website, services or other aspects of our business. The information that is collected is not generally personally identifiable as it is aggregated data that does not identify any individual user.

You can opt out of marketing and advertisements at any time. The process for unsubscribing from our communications is available via email request.

Securing your personal information

We generally store personal information on networks outside Australia. We will take reasonable precautions to ensure that the personal information that we have about you is protected against any unlawful use, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure, and these precautions include:

• using appropriate information technology and processes;
• using computer and network security systems with appropriate firewalls, encryption technology and passwords for the protection of electronic files;
• restricting access to your personal information to our employees and those who perform services for us who need your personal information to do what we have engaged them to do;
• requesting certain personal information from you when you wish to discuss any issues relating to the products and services we provide to you.

While we undertake reasonable steps to protect your personal information, no guarantee can be given that information sent over the internet is always 100% secure. Sending and receiving information over the internet is at the user’s own risk; however, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure your data security once we receive it. Our security controls are set out in our Cyber Security & Information Security Policy.

If we believe or suspect that the security of your personal information has been compromised, we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take steps to protect yourself from harm. Where reasonably possible, we will destroy or de-identify your information if it is no longer required for the purpose for which it was collected or any related purpose (subject to any relevant record-keeping obligations under Australian law).

We hold personal information in data storage facilities operated by third parties for us that may be in overseas locations. Currently, we maintain a database of personal information (primarily name, email address and phone number) with overseas providers who are in the USA or Asia.

Please note that some of our participating suppliers may operate call centres that are based overseas, and so if you enquire about a product with them, you may call or be called by one of those call centres. If you provide information to a participating supplier, the collection, storage and use of that information will be managed by the participating supplier and subject to their privacy policy.

Disclosing personal information

We do not sell, license or otherwise disclose your personal information to third parties unless such disclosure is for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Participating suppliers

We may provide your information to participating suppliers to enable suppliers to provide products and services to you. This may include providing your information to a supplier:

• if you wish to obtain a quote for products or services (in some cases, your personal information will be relevant to calculating the cost of the products or services offered to you); and
• if you decide to enter into an agreement with that supplier or wish to obtain further information.

Legal requirements

We may disclose your information if, in our reasonable opinion, we are legally bound to do so or if such disclosure is necessary to prevent harm to ourselves, other users or third parties. We will notify you of such disclosures.

Change of ownership

If there is a change of control in respect of our company, your information may become accessible by a third party if we are required to transfer assets to them.

Interactive platforms

Any personal information that you submit, display or publish on an online platform or website, including social media, is publicly available and may be read, collected, used and disclosed by us or other users of those platforms subject to the terms of use of those sites. If you decide to interact with us via social media, limited data from your social media profile may be collected and provided to us or other third parties.

Personal information access

You have the right to access and correct your personal information we hold. In certain situations (e.g. if required or permitted by law), we can deny access to some or all of the personal information we hold. We will always provide reasons in writing if access is refused. We may charge you a reasonable fee for access to your personal information, but we will advise you of the fee before we process your request. We will always respond to requests for access and/or corrections within a reasonable period and we will give access in the manner requested if it is reasonable and practicable to do so. Please email or write to our Privacy Officer (see Contact information) if you wish to access or correct your personal information.

If you provide us with information about another person, you must have that person’s consent before you provide the information to us. You must also tell the person that we have collected their personal information, that the person is entitled to access the information we hold, and that he or she should refer to this document to understand how we manage their personal information.

Unsubscribe from marketing communications

If you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from UtilityDeals Pty Ltd, please use the unsubscribe link contained in all of our email communications. If you use the unsubscribe link in our email communications, you will be removed from the distribution list for email communications, but you may continue to receive communications from us by SMS or phone. You can contact us by calling 0423 127 721 or emailing info@utilitydeals.com.au to opt out of all communications.

Privacy complaints

If you have a complaint about the way we manage your personal information, including any decision made regarding a request for access or correction of your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer on info@utilitydeals.com.au.

Our Privacy Officer will endeavour to resolve any privacy complaints and will respond in writing to you regarding the outcome of any investigation. If your privacy concerns are not resolved satisfactorily or you wish to obtain more information on the privacy legislation, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (see Contact information). How we handle complaints generally is set out in our Dispute Resolution Policy.

Contact information